


Still Here

by Nightblaze



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Mike is somehow dead before the mines, One-Shot, but i dont really care, here's some word-vomit, im horrible at romance, very OOC oops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-20
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-15 02:16:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5767453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightblaze/pseuds/Nightblaze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Wendigo injured Josh a bit too much. More than Sam wants to know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still Here

"It's not much farther," Sam whispers lightly. Her smile is sad and her beautiful green eyes don't shine like they usually do. 

My breaths come in ragged chokes. My feet stumble blindly along the dark ground, tripping over loose stones.  _Yeah. Alright. Just a bit farther._  

"Hey, Josh? You still there?" she whispers, shivering in the cold air. 

"Still here," I grunt. My vision is blurred and I can't seem to focus.

The girl who is carrying me is short. I'm tall. I can't believe she's doing this for me. Especially after what I did to her. What I did to everyone. "Yeah... stay with me, alright? Just keep holding on." I can't imagine letting go of her shoulder. 

The pain. The sheer agony burning in my torso, pulsing with dark liquid. "Still here..." I mutter again, and she stops for a moment as I lose my balance.

And then she notices it.

 "Josh, who did that?" she says quietly, helping me sit down as I reach down to clutch the wound in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. 

"Wendigo," I answer as I watch her with no focus.

She curses under her breath. "Alright, Josh, we're gonna be fine, it's almost dawn and Emily said she contacted the park rangers-"

"Don't," I choke out, "Don't let me get my hopes up. Don't get your hopes up."  _Hope? Ha... ha ha..._

"You can't talk like that," she tells me firmly, staring at me with those green eyes - the ones that used to burn with such joy and intensity, the ones that now are as dark as the storm outside.

"Why not? You know. I can't survive much longer. You should just leave me. Leave, leave, leave, leave," I splutter mindlessly. Part of me wishes she'll stay - she used to say we had a connection. But the rest of me wants her to just get away so she'll be alive. "Leave and forget. Forget about me. Leave and live," I laugh humorlessly.

She slaps me.

Ow.

"I said don't talk like that," she fiercely responds, crouching beside me. I don't talk again for a while.

I can't bring myself to say her name. My tongue doesn't deserve to say it. I don't deserve to hear it. But I do anyway and it tastes bittersweet in my mouth.

"Just don't talk, okay? Just let me say everything..."

"Josh-" she warns, but I cut her off.

"Ever since Hannah and Beth disappeared," I begin, doing my best to ignore the pain from the dark gash in my stomach. "You've always been here for me. I can't thank you enough. You've saved me from myself way too many times. I've been a stupid, a stupid dumb idiot. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. It - It wasn't even to get revenge. It was for me. I thought it would help to see..." I don't finish the statement. _Myself getting cut in half? My best friend chose to shoot himself or his crush? You running for your life?_ "Nothing was your fault. You deserve a break from taking care of me. Just leave me now and save yourself, cause if you stay here, it'll get you. You'd have wasted your life on someone who was gonna die anyway." 

"I can't just leave you down here," she replies, her voice cracking. Her fingers are shaking but I don't know if it's from the cold or sadness. Likely the former. But I could hope for the latter, right? Then at least someone would care.

I laugh again, voice dry. "No, no, no, no. Please leave now. Go, go go go go go..."

She hesitantly stands up, still watching me. I look right back up at her. She starts backing up, slowly. I smile to myself as the edges of my vision turn black. She's shaking, her whole body, and I don't think I'm imagining the wetness in her eyes. "Alright, Josh. See... you soon?" she manages, curling her hands into fists.

"See you soon," I agree half-heartedly, and then, barely a whisper: "I love you, Sammy."

I watch her turn around and start walking.

She doesn't look back.


End file.
